This study examined the effectiveness of explicit instruction of vocabulary learning strategies (VLSs) over a 10-week semester with a group of 146 female EFL learners from two Japanese universities. A vocabulary test and questionnaires on VLSs and motivation were administered at the beginning of the course. The learners were divided into two groups based on the vocabulary test results: an experimental group and a control group. Only the experimental group received explicit instruction on VLSs in combination with their regular language lessons. The same instruments were re-administered at the end of the course to examine the changes in both the questionnaire responses and test scores. Qualitative analyses were also conducted to explore the findings in detail. The results show that the experimental group outperformed the control group in the vocabulary test. It was also found that (1) strategy training was effective for both changing the repertoire of strategies used and improving their frequency of use, (2) the training increased the use of certain strategies more than it did for other strategies, and (3) different types of learners exhibited different responses to the strategy instruction. This study’s findings contribute to a better understanding of strategy instruction in general and VLSs in particular.

Research on the L2 Motivational Self System has drawn considerable attention in Second Language Acquisition. Previous studies have discussed the system itself, its basic concepts and their relationships to such affective variables as anxiety in various L2 learning contexts. The findings of these studies suggest that (1) having a clearer image of one's ideal L2 self might facilitate motivated L2 learning behaviour, (2) affective variables can promote or hinder learners' will to envision their ideal L2 selves, and (3) the system has both theoretical and pedagogical implications for L2 learner autonomy. The present survey study aimed to validate the system among Japanese English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners in two groups, whose learning contexts made it respectively easier and harder to formulate a clear image of an ideal L2 self. Survey data were analysed using multiple-group structural equation modelling. Results showed that the proposed model fitted both groups, but the relationships among variables in the model were different according to the group. The study also illustrated the dynamic interplay of affective variables (e.g. anxiety, self-efficacy) and the basic tenets of the system thereby providing us with useful insights into L2 learner autonomy.

This article reports on a qualitative study conducted in the Japanese foreign language (FL) context about good foreign language learners, in which the author analyzes the strategy use reported in 67 books on “how I have learned a foreign language.” Results suggest that there are strategies especially favored in the Japanese FL context and that the use of some strategies seems to be closely connected to specific stages of learning. Some research implications are also discussed

In this article, the authors present an empirical study on motivational strategies in English as a foreign language classes at the lower secondary school level. Teachers’ actual use of 15 motivational strategies was described on the basis of self-reported frequency data over a two-month period. Furthermore, the relationships between the frequency of these 15 motivational strategies and the strength of students’ motivation were investigated. The overall results showed that (1) teachers used these motivational strategies in a variety of ways; (2) there were only a few motivational strategies which showed a significant correlation with students’ motivation. In addition, the authors found that (3) the effectiveness of some motivational strategies varied according to students’ English proficiency level. Implications of these findings are discussed at the end of the article.